Risotto Stuffed Tomatoes

Pomodori Farcito al Forno~ I enjoy stuffed vegetables of any description, whether they are stuffed with pasta, chopped vegetables, breadcrumbs, or rice as in this recipe. You often see vegetables like this here in Italy on antipasti tables as they can be prepared ahead of time, keep well at room temperature, and are delicious hours after they have been assembled and baked. I made this recipe as a first course one evening this past week, but these tomatoes would also be lovely at lunch alongside a mixed green salad, or you could use smaller tomatoes and serve them on a mixed antipasti platter. Choose nice firm, but very ripe tomatoes for the best results. I used arborio (risotto rice) in my version, but you could use a long grain white rice, or even brown rice if you preferred. The trick is to pre-cook the rice partially, so it finishes cooking inside the tomatoes and absorb all the juices while they are being baked.

Perfect Tomatoes For Stuffing!

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2011

Risotto Stuffed Tomatoes

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

These rice stuffed tomatoes are great warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

4 Large Ripe Tomatoes

1/3 Cup Arborio Rice

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Finely Diced Onion

2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced

1/2 Teaspoon Saffron Threads

1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil or Parsley

Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Use a sharp knife and remove any stalk still on the tomato, leaving the stem end intact.

Cut off the top of the tomato at the stem end, about 1/5 of the way down, and set the "tomato lids" aside for now.

Use a sharp spoon and scoop out the pulp from the interior of the tomato leaving the outer shells intact.

Push the pulp just removed, along with the seeds and juice through a strainer or a sieve.

Precook the rice by boiling it in salted water until it is 3/4 of the way cooked, about 8 minutes.( It should still be quite chewy.) , then drain.

In a frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent.

Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about another minute or two.